Factor-7 Book Blog Tour, Review, and #Giveaway #LoneStarLit

FACTOR-7

by

J.D. MAY

Categories: Suspense/ Science Fiction / Romance / Medical Thriller

Publisher: Palmetto Publishing

Date of Publication: January 5, 2021

Number of Pages: 468 pages

 

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Dr. Sam Hawkins’s friend and mentor, Dr. William Roberts, has been struck down by an unknown and hideous disease. Roberts’s dying words are cryptic, and Sam is soon confronted by a massive cover up of his friend’s death. He reluctantly partners with Dr. Rainee Arienzo, an Italian infectious disease specialist, and together they uncover the terrifying truth about Factor-7, a bio-weapon with a 98 percent mortality rate. 

Roberts’s journal tips them off that a clandestine plot for using the virus is about to be unleashed by a secret society, the Keepers Collegium. The Collegium, an international group of rogue intelligence agents, ex-military, and government officials, has a demonic plan to use the pathogen to destroy anyone who threatens their twisted ideology.

Sam and Rainee soon realize that public exposure of the evil plot would be as dangerous to the world’s security as the bio-weapon itself—the fallout could lead to World War III. Therefore, they must not only shut down the plans of the Collegium, but also keep the top- secret information away from the media.

But as they work to stop the plot, Sam and Rainee are kidnapped by the drug cartel. The kingpin, who financed much of the Collegium’s plot, wants them to hand over Roberts’s journal because it lists the names of the major players in the Collegium who had double-crossed him. He plans to carry out his own revenge. In order to survive, Sam and Rainee have no choice—they must play with one of two devils or be burned by both.

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Factor-7 by author J.D. May is a medical thriller\mystery where Dr. Sam Hawkins attempts to solve the death of his friend and mentor. Along the way, there are adventures, disasters, and a side of romance.

 

The first scenes in the novel, a prologue about a secret society and the death of Dr. Roberts, Sam’s mentor, really grabbed me. These scenes, among others, are well orchestrated to the point where all my senses were engaged. It was like I was there in the room, smelling the blood, hearing the strain in the characters’ voices, and feeling Sam’s frustration when he couldn’t save his friend. The action scenes in the novel are fast paced. The medical jargon, though, sometimes left me glassy-eyed and overwhelmed to the point of skimming those pages after a while. I also felt the narrative bogged down in the middle while Sam and Rainee were reading Dr. Roberts’s files. The details in those files are necessary, however, to learn all the connections with the secret society, and reason for Dr. Roberts’s death. Some very big secrets are revealed in these scenes!

 

The characters in Factor-7 operate in the grey-area of life and are not always likable. In our first introduction to Sam, he’s in his element in a hospital trauma room, at the top of his game in his professional life. All while his personal life is a mess. I appreciated his tenacity in finding out why Dr. Roberts died. However, I didn’t always approve of the methods Sam uses to uncover those answers. Dr. Roberts’s files are enlightening when it comes to other characters in the novel. We meet Dr. John Albright, a collogue of Sam’s, at the beginning of the novel through Sam’s narrative. We learn later that Dr. Albright has never been close to the grey area. From Dr. Roberts’s files, we learn how greedy Albright truly is. Even Dr. Roberts’s actions as told through his files are self-centered. His motives may be noble, but his actions are not. While the story is told from Sam’s point of view, I wish that Rainee had more of a lead in the story. Her scientific background and problem-solving skills were engaging.

 

(I know. I didn’t have to use “operate” in a review for a medical thriller. But what can I say, it seemed appropriate!)

 

Honestly, I could have done without the romance aspect of Factor-7. The connection between Sam and Rainee could have been professional only and I would have been just as interested in the story.

 

Warning to those readers who might not be into graphic sex scenes. There are a couple that were uncomfortable for me as the reader. But you can always skip over those scenes and continue reading the novel.

 

Overall, Factor-7 is a fast-paced and inventive novel. And pondering the reason for the creation of the virus in Factor-7 is remarkably interesting in today’s pandemic times.

I received Factor-7 free in exchange for my honest review. Thanks to author J.D. May and Lone Star Book Blog Tours for providing this opportunity.

 

   

J.D. May is a third generation Texan from the Lower Rio Grande Valley. She loves her band of house cats as well as the large tribe of fat, happy TNR’d feral cats that came with her rural property in a small citrus-growing community. Palm tree-lined roads, natural waterways, and roaming wild animals including alligators, deer, wild hogs, and birds of every color make Bayview a perfect place for a writer and painter. She also loves the beach, rock and roll, Tex-Mex food, cooking, Shiner Bock beer, and she believes wine is a legitimate food group. She shows her paintings at The Laguna Madre Art Gallery in Port Isabel, Texas.

J.D. May attended Sam Houston State University, San Miguel de Allende Instituto, and Rice University where she studied drama, art, creative writing and Spanish. J.D. May worked in advertising for most of her career. She is married to a former award-winning surfer and has a daughter and soon to have a brand-new granddaughter.